Game improvement golf clubs are designed to have a large “sweet spot” to allow golf shots that are not struck on the center of the golf club face to still travel to their intended target. Since many golfers often do not strike the golf ball in the center of the golf club face, a larger “sweet spot” can significantly improve golf scores. Having a large “sweet spot” really means that the golf club head has a large moment of inertia.
Moment of inertia is important in golf because not all shots are struck in the middle of the golf club. Generally, shots struck on the toe of the golf club will cause the golf club to rotate clockwise causing the ball to travel to the right. Golf shots struck on the heel of the golf club will cause the golf club to rotate counter clockwise causing the ball to travel to the left. The club rotation not only affects the direction that the ball travels, but the tilt of the golf club also consumes energy causing the ball to travel a shorter distance as well. If a golf club head has a larger moment of inertia, then the golf club head is less apt to rotate. Therefore, golf shots that are struck on the toe or heel travel farther and straighter. These clubs are thought to have a larger “sweet spot.”
Moment of inertia is rotational inertia. It describes the force necessary to rotate an object around an axis. The larger the moment of inertia of an object, the harder it is to rotate the object around that axis. Moment of inertia of an object is determined by the distribution of the mass of an object around an axis. For a given total mass, the moment of inertia is greater if more mass is farther from the axis than if the same mass is distributed closer to the axis. For this reason, golf clubs have been made that distribute the majority of the weight of the golf club around the perimeter of the face of the golf club as opposed to the middle of the face to increase the moment of inertia relative to rotation of the golf club head around the middle of the face.
Metal woods were the first type of golf club to increase their moment of inertia by developing a hollow interior inside the golf club head. By removing mass located near the center of gravity of the golf club head, metal woods were able to significantly increase their moment of inertia. However, this technology has not been effectively introduced for irons. The few irons that use hollow technology lack the solid feel of traditional forged irons and are not designed to optimize the moment of inertia of the golf club head.
The problem with most current game improvement clubs that have a large moment of inertia is that the large moment of inertia was created by removing mass directly behind the striking area. While the large moment of inertia allows better performance for balls struck off-center, these clubs lack the solid feel of traditional forged clubs because of the lack of mass directly behind the striking area.
Another disadvantage of most game improvement clubs is that they fail to address one of the more common problems that face high-handicap golfers. Most high handicap golfers have difficulty elevating iron shots, especially low lofted irons. One of the reasons that low lofted irons are more difficult to elevate is that as the loft decreases, the center of mass of the golf club head moves higher up the face making it more difficult to elevate the golf ball. It is therefore advantageous to lower the center of gravity of irons to increase the launch angle of the golf ball.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game improvement golf club iron that has a hollow interior, a large moment of inertia, a lower center of gravity, and a reinforced striking area.